PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Rookie Pat Garrity scored a season-high 25
points as the Phoenix Suns rebounded from a devastating defeat
by snapping the San Antonio Spurs' six-game winning streak with
a 110-84 rout.

Cliff Robinson bounced back and had 22 points, including a
3-pointer to cap a decisive 13-2 third-quarter run that put
Phoenix ahead for good. Robinson fouled Utah's Karl Malone
behind the arc with seven-tenths of a second remaining Friday,
resulting in three made free throws and a 93-92 loss.

"It was an unfortunate play, one you would love to get back,"
said Robinson of his blunder. "But that was the last thing I
was going to let affect me on how I was going to approach this
game. We did a really good job of moving the ball and that got
us open underneath."

The Suns (18-19) became only the fourth team to score at least
100 points against the Spurs this season and maintained a 1
1/2-game lead over Sacramento for the final Western Conference
playoff spot. Phoenix also set a franchise record by holding
its 10th straight opponent below 100 points.

Tim Duncan scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the
Spurs (24-11), who suffered their most lopsided loss of the
season. San Antonio, which had won 18 of its previous 20 games,
is third in the West, one-half game ahead of the Los Angeles
Lakers.

"This was our worst performance," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich
said. "We were a step behind and as a team we were very poor
defensively. I think Phoenix deserves a lot of credit after
what they had to go through last night."

"They played a great game all around," Duncan added. "I got my
looks in the second half, I just couldn't knock them down. Their
defensive scheme changed throughout the game. They came quick
and sometimes they didn't come at all. It was just different."

David Robinson, who has struggled offensively, had one of his
poorer games of the season with four points on 1-of-9 shooting
and two rebounds in 24 minutes.

"You don't get shots if you don't make them and I wasn't making
the shots," he said. "They shot well and we did not play
defense together. It was awful. Defensively, we were a step
behind everybody. It was one of our worst efforts. We're
chasing Utah and we can't afford to do this."

Garrity started for injured forward Tom Gugliotta, who missed
his fifth straight game with a knee sprain. The 6-9 forward
from Notre Dame was 11-of-16 from the field. He entered the
contest averaging 4.4 points in 25 games.

"Most of my shots were open shots and I think that's what
happens when you're a new guy," Garrity said. "Some defenses
concentrate on your other people. I was lucky to hit the first
couple of my shots and get some confidence, and then it's a lot
easier to shoot after that. It helps getting good, consistent
minutes. I didn't think I would get this kind of minutes this
early. But Gugliotta is the guy still and I'll be fine when he
gets back."

Phoenix center Luc Longley also sat out with a sprained left
knee and is listed as day-to-day. Veteran Joe Kleine started in
the middle and frustrated Robinson for most of the game.

Rex Chapman scored 18 points and Jason Kidd added 15 and 14
assists for the Suns, who improved to 2-1 against the Spurs this
season.

"I felt we did a very good job defensively," Phoenix coach Danny
Ainge said. "We shot the ball very well from the outside and
that makes a big difference. We made them take the shots we
wanted them to take. Shooting is a beautiful thing. When
you're making shots it puts a little more bounce in your step.

Danny Manning had 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds off
the bench for Phoenix, which shot 55 percent (47-of-85),
including 9-of-14 from 3-point range.

Malik Rose scored 13 points and Mario Elie added 11 for the
Spurs, who shot 38 percent (31-of-82) but were only 3-of-13 from
beyond the arc.

Elie drained a jumper with 10 seconds left in the first half to
forge a 49-49 tie. Robinson hit a 12-foot jumper to open the
third quarter and the clubs traded baskets until Phoenix went
ahead for good, 55-53, on Garrity's dunk with 9:25 left.

Garrity followed with a layup, Chapman drilled a 15-footer and
Robinson drained a 3-pointer to cap the run, giving Phoenix a
62-53 cushion with 7:08 remaining.